Of course, if the government adopted more sensible economic policies many more businesses would be investing in this country and adding jobs as well.  Even though that hasn’t happened yet, Koch is still doing what it can to provide opportunities in manufacturing here in the US.  Too many on the Left would rather attack companies that are creating jobs in this country — the very companies that generate the type of growth our economy needs.  Maddow and her team are a sad example of this misguided thinking.

Koch’s concern with the Dulles rail editorial

The June 10 editorial “Dulles rail awaits a thumbs up” singled out Charles and David Koch for criticism in a way that was  intellectually lazy and misleading. The editorial stated, “A group funded by the conservative Koch brothers has sponsored thousands of robocalls” in Loudoun County in opposition to a taxpayer-funded bailout for “rail station developers.”

Why not simply inform readers which group is making the calls and the basics of its argument? Americans for Prosperity (AFP) is the group advocating opposition to the bailout. Yes, we have long supported AFP, but so have some 90,000 other Americans who have made financial contributions to the group. AFP has a thriving chapter in Virginia, where AFP has its headquarters, and many of those people no doubt live and work in Loudoun County, contrary to another cheap shot in the editorial that “right-wing groups” have “scant knowledge of Loudoun and no stake in its future.”

For our part, however, Koch Companies Private Sector has taken no position on this matter. Using Koch as a ready-made straw man in arguments to expand the role of government has become a tired and familiar approach for some commentators. This latest effort goes so far as to “suppose” that Koch “would also have opposed building  the transcontinental railroad, the interstate highway system, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Metro system and Dulles International Airport.” The writer, in other words, was  simply using imagination instead of facts.

Melissa Cohlmia, Wichita, Kan.

Mr. Pickens has stated that he is standing up for the American people by lobbying Congress for the passage of the NAT GAS Act. However, as The Atlantic reported, the NAT GAS Act is a scheme to get tax breaks from the government – in the form of another government subsidy – in order to increase the number of natural gas-powered tractor-trailers and heavy trucks on U.S. roads. What’s less well-known is that Mr. Pickens is the major shareholder in BAF Technologies, self-described as “the leading provider of natural gas vehicle systems and conversions in the U.S.”

Mr. Pickens is a savvy investor and we respect his experience in the energy industry. He understands the laws of supply and demand – that when demand for natural gas vehicles goes up, so will natural gas prices, and that price hike will benefit his substantial investments in natural gas markets and related businesses. If enacted, Mr. Pickens stands to benefit richly from the NAT GAS legislation at the expense of American taxpayers.

Overregulation, subsidies, and cronyism distort the marketplace and result in higher energy prices for every American. We do not believe government should be picking winners and losers in the marketplace based on the industries or products it chooses to subsidize. Government has a terrible record in doing so – both here and abroad. History shows us that the free market, driven by consumer choice, is a far better way to allocate resources.  The Center for American Progress, a partisan activist group closely aligned with President Obama to which Mr. Pickens contributed $453,250 in 2008 and 2009, has joined in Mr. Pickens’ attack on Koch.  This is additional proof that Mr. Pickens’ position is nothing more than cynical cronyism that is totally contrary to free-market principles.

Members of Congress who have consistently opposed this misguided legislative cronyism should be commended. Their efforts to stop yet another subsidy from being foisted on the American taxpayer are laudable.

Robert Greenwald continues to be dishonest about Koch in an effort to raise money for and draw attention to his latest attack video.  In a March 31st blog posting, Mr. Greenwald again repeated many of the false story lines that have been refuted over the past year here, here, here, and here.

He claims his new video is the result of a “year-long investigation” and that Koch is trying to intimidate him.  From what we understand about this re-packaged video, it, like his prior videos about us, is not factual or original.  It consists of the derivative rehashing of distortions and fabrications made by far-left bloggers, diatribes based on the most attenuated of relationships between Koch and some third-party group’s real or alleged activities, or outright smears.

His “investigation” consisted of having his employees harass us with multiple, staged phone calls that were not intended to get our point of view, but instead to create material for his new video. (Unfortunately, many of Mr. Greenwald’s employees have not mastered the art of hanging up the telephone, and their motivations and false intentions were revealed, as we have shown here and here).

At the same time that we have been the target of death threats, as well as threats of physical violence and attacks on our facilities, Mr. Greenwald’s employees attempted to conduct ambush interviews of one of our owners to ask him how many homes he owns. Mr. Greenwald himself has never acknowledged the many homes he apparently owns in the LA-area alone. In addition, he had film crews show up at our owners’ residences to videotape and ask questions – a tactic we understand he plans to employ again as he has tried to hire a camera crew to stalk our employees in Wichita over the next couple of weeks.

Compared to Mr. Greenwald’s and his employees’ stalking and harassing behavior, what we have done is point out that Mr. Greenwald’s assertions are false, baseless, distorted, and/or misleading.  We also pointed out his history of making extremely biased, false, and misleading videos about other entities that he and the far-left do not like.  Mr. Greenwald, like many of the groups he is aligned with politically, does not like it when the targets of his attacks defend themselves by relying on the truth to show the falsity of the attacks.

In his most recent post he has offered to debate us.  After Mr. Greenwald’s March 30 appearance on MSNBC’s Martin Bashir show, however, we are confused about what there is to debate.   During his appearance, Mr. Greenwald, in a rare moment of honesty about Koch, stated that “what they do is legal.”  While he later reverted to his dishonest ways and tried to retract this truthful statement, he apparently reviewed the tape of his statement and realized even he could not lie his way out of it, deleting his tweet in the process.

Below we again address his false claims about us.  In so doing, we deal solely with the facts:

1.  With regard to the Crossett facility, we have explained that Georgia-Pacific operates in compliance with its government-issued and regulated permits and the law; that the individuals in Mr. Greenwald’s video have undisclosed, ulterior financial or other motives in attacking us; and that the allegations about us have been reviewed and dismissed by the regulators in the past.

In his post, he attempts to denigrate Koch’s exemplary environmental performance by referring to a study prepared by a member of the Union for Radical Political Economics that has nothing to with compliance with EPA-issued permits, and lists many major US-based manufacturers, given that the study is based on outputs from facilities in the U.S.  We work hard to comply with our permits and work cooperatively and innovatively with federal and state regulators to ensure compliance. We have been recognized by the EPA for doing so  — see here and here.  Koch’s commitment to compliance with environmental, health, and safety laws is shown by the more than 450 awards we have received since President Obama took office.

With regard to formaldehyde, Koch companies comply with all laws and regulations.  Along with many other individuals, environmental groups, NGOs, government agencies, and companies, we provided comments on the EPA’s proposed regulations, as is provided for under the law.

Mr. Greenwald’s insinuation that we are responsible for any cancer that any individual is unfortunately suffering from is maliciously false and irresponsible.  We, of course, have sympathy for anyone suffering from cancer.  We are sickened by his attempt to exploit someone else’s suffering in a dishonest way so that he can line his own pocket and garner publicity for himself, as well his gratuitous and disgraceful reference to Koch employees who have battled this disease.

2.  Mr. Greenwald falsely ties us to laws designed to combat voter fraud based solely on our membership in ALEC.  As we have explained, we are not involved with these initiatives.  Consistent with our  longstanding support for the Bill of Rights and individual liberty, we support voter education and voter registration efforts.   ALEC is a non-partisan association for state legislators who share a common belief in limited government, free markets, and individual liberty — ideals that Koch has long supported.  Many hundreds of other individuals, organizations, and companies also support ALEC, including General Electric and Unilever, Ben and Jerry’s corporate parent.  This includes Democrats and Republicans alike, representing all various demographic groups across the social and political spectrum.  However, membership in an organization does not mean that Koch is actively involved with or interested in everything done by the organization.

3.   As we have explained, Koch was not involved in any way in the decisions made by a Wake County, North Carolina school board.  Mr. Greenwald doesn’t even try to suggest that Koch was somehow directing what this local school board and the parents decided concerning their children’s education.   Typical of his other allegations, he bases this one on alleged actions by an AFP chapter.  He rehashes facts we have long acknowledged: that David Koch is the chairman of AFP Foundation, and that some Koch employees are among the more than 2 million members and 90,000-plus individuals who contribute to AFP and AFP Foundation.  He complains that AFP doesn’t disclose its donors (it is not required to do so under the law).  He fails to note, however, that it appears his own organization, Brave New Foundation, and his former funder, Democracy Alliance, don’t reveal their donors.  Mr. Greenwald’s other false allegations and irresponsible race-baiting concerning AFP’s alleged involvement in Wake County are largely based on false allegations by the far-left ThinkProgress, which were refuted in January 2011 by Newsweek and the Washington Post.  The Post decried ThinkProgress’ misrepresentations of fact and irresponsible race-baiting, which Mr. Greenwald continues to repeat.

4.   Mr. Greenwald falsely claims Koch is undermining worker rights.  He bases this on allegations that Koch was behind Wisconsin’s budget repair bill — allegations that have been debunked here and here.  Koch, in fact, has productive, respectful, and longstanding relationships with the unions that represent thousands of our employees.  In fact, last year a senior union official praised Koch for providing “among the best-paid manufacturing jobs in America,” and stating that Koch “in practice and in general has positive and productive . . . relationships with its unions.”  In contrast, Mr. Greenwald’s past relationships with his workers and unions have not been as positive or productive.  In 1992, Teamsters drivers at a North Carolina movie production site staged a strike when Robert Greenwald Productions paid them only $100-a-day ($152-a-day, or $39,520 annually in 2009 dollars), 33% below the union’s $150-a-day minimum requirement. ($228-a-day, or $59,280 in 2009 dollars).  “It was a case where they were trying to make a low-budget movie and pay low salaries,” said R.V. Durham, president of Teamsters Local 392. “We fixed it.”  (The News & Observer (Raleigh), 4/16/92 and 4/18/92).  Mr. Greenwald also continues to be dishonest about the false representations he made in his Wal-Mart attack video concerning a Wal-Mart store in Middlefield, Ohio.   As one third party commentator put it: “The High Cost Of Low Price” is a hatchet job on the big China seller. So here is the “$64,000 Question”:  WHAT IN THE BLOODY HELL IS H&H HARDWARE DOING IN A MOVIE WHICH FEATURES BUSINESSES THAT WERE PUT UNDER BY WAL-MARTS? Good question, because H&H was hemorrhaging for four or five years before it went out of business and actually sold all of its remaining inventory and went lights out THREE MONTHS BEFORE WAL-MART EVER OPENED! . . . So now do you smell a rat? This Greenwald is very, very deceptive. You’ve just got to see this film to believe it.”

In sum, Mr. Greenwald is the one “hiding” and “distorting the truth.”  Koch has been and will continue to be truthful and direct concerning Mr. Greenwald and his false allegations.  We hope that Mr. Greenwald’s recent video is seen for what it is: a desperate attempt by an obscure video maker to make money off of the orchestrated partisan political attacks against Koch that have been going on for the past few years.  We recommend that people read www.kochfacts.com for the truth.  While it appears unlikely that reasonable people will watch Mr. Greenwald’s video, we hope that those who do will make the same decision about Mr. Greenwald and his work that the Democracy Alliance did.

In a rare moment of honesty, Mr. Greenwald conceded that what we do is legal. His words are captured at the conclusion of the video above. Greenwald then tried to retract his remarks and failing that attempted to corrupt the record by posting the following message on Twitter:

Caught in yet another lie, Greenwald deleted that deliberately misleading tweet. We post it here as further evidence of his serial dishonesty.

Robert Greenwald is a fringe, left-wing video maker who was recently de-funded by the George Soros-backed Democracy Alliance.  Perhaps due to the fact that he lost his source of funding, Mr. Greenwald is desperately seeking attention for a new video that attacks Koch Industries, Charles Koch, and David Koch.  If Mr. Greenwald’s past works are any indication, this current effort will be a partisan hatchet job that has no credibility.

Mr. Greenwald has made other shoddy videos that falsely attacked Wal-Mart and Fox News, and were filled with lies, distortions, and misleading assertions.  For example, in his Wal-Mart video, he falsely claimed that the opening of a Wal-Mart store in Middlefield, Ohio led to the closure of a locally owned hardware store, even though the hardware store had closed three months before Wal-Mart opened.  While one can argue whether these pieces are fatally flawed due to Mr. Greenwald’s obvious extreme bias or to abjectly sloppy research and journalism, the end result is that he consistently produces videos riddled with false statements and inaccuracies, and no semblance of objectivity or credibility.

Given Mr. Greenwald’s pattern of dishonesty and the childish antics of his employees who have been harassing us by phone, we are certain his video about Koch will contain outright lies, distortions of our true record, and misstatements of fact.  For example, Mr. Greenwald has falsely claimed that Koch is behind various voter ID laws passed by state legislatures (it isn’t) and that Koch was the impetus for some Wake County, North Carolina school board decisions (it wasn’t).

Explore KochFacts to find the truth concerning these issues, as well as information concerning the Koch companies’ exemplary environmental performance record.

Mr. Greenwald’s dishonesty on these issues is troubling.  However, he reached a new low even for him with a video last fall concerning Georgia-Pacific’s Crossett, Arkansas mill that contains false statements and misrepresentations of fact, which we understand he has included in his latest video.

As we have explained on this site, Mr. Greenwald relies on testimonials of individuals who have previously sued the company (and subsequently settled their claims), an environmental activist who has repeatedly misrepresented the company’s performance, and others who ignore or distort the true facts and environmental performance of the mill.  Most egregious is Mr. Greenwald’s baseless claim that the mill is linked to cancer.  While we are, of course, sympathetic to those who are suffering from cancer, there is no evidence that Georgia-Pacific’s operations are linked to any of these ailments.

Mr. Greenwald’ statements are maliciously false and misleading, and we urge the news media not to republish them.  That Mr. Greenwald would use other people’s ailments as a means to falsely attack Koch is irresponsible and disgraceful, but not surprising, given his track record.

All one really needs to know about Mr. Greenwald is revealed by a statement he made several years ago:  “There is a great quote: ‘The truth is too important to let the facts get in the way.’”  In his latest project, he has lived up to those words.

– Mark Holden, General Counsel, Koch Industries, Inc.

Dear Mr. Messina:

Because every American has the right to take part in the public discourse on matters that affect the future of our country, I feel compelled to respond directly about a fundraising letter you sent out on February 24 denouncing Koch. It is both surprising and disappointing that the President would allow his re-election team to send such an irresponsible and misleading letter to his supporters.

For example, it is false that our “business model is to make millions by jacking up prices at the pump.” Our business vision begins and ends with value creation — real, long-term value for customers and for society. We own no gasoline stations and the part of our business you allude to, oil and gas refining, actually lowers the price of gasoline by increasing supply. Either you simply misunderstand the way commodities markets work or you are misleading your supporters and the rest of the American people.

Contrary to your assertion that we have “committed $200 million to try to destroy President Obama,” we have stated publicly and repeatedly since last November that we have never made any such claim or pledge. It is hard to imagine that the campaign is unaware of our publicly stated position on that point. Similarly, Americans for Prosperity is not simply “funded by the Koch brothers,” as you state — rather it has tens of thousands of members and contributors from across the country and from all walks of life. Further, our opposition to this President’s policies is not based on partisan politics but on principles. Charles Koch and David Koch have been outspoken advocates of the free-market for over 50 years and they have consistently opposed policies that frustrate or subvert free markets, regardless of whether a Democrat or a Republican was President.

If the President’s campaign has some principled disagreement with the arguments we are making publicly about the staggering debt the President and previous administrations have imposed on the country, the regulations that are stifling business growth and innovation, the increasing intrusion of government into nearly every aspect of American life, we would be eager to hear them. But it is an abuse of the President’s position and does a disservice to our nation for the President and his campaign to criticize private citizens simply for the act of engaging in their constitutional right of free speech about important matters of public policy. The implication in that sort of attack is obvious: dare to criticize the President’s policies and you will be singled out and personally maligned by the President and his campaign in an effort to chill free speech and squelch dissent.

This is not the first time that the President and his Administration have engaged in this sort of disturbing behavior. As far back as August, 2010, Austan Goolsbee, then the President’s chief economic advisor, made public comments concerning Koch’s tax status and falsely stated that the company did not pay income tax, which triggered a federal investigation into Mr. Goolsbee’s conduct that potentially implicated federal law against improper disclosure of taxpayer information. Last June, your colleagues sent fundraising letters disparaging us as “plotting oil men” bent on “misleading people” with “disinformation” in order to “smear” the President’s record. Those accusations were baseless and were made at the very same time the president was publicly calling for a more “civil conversation” in the country.

It is understandable that the President and his campaign may be “tired of hearing” that many Americans would rather not see the president re-elected. However, the inference is that you would prefer that citizens who disagree with the President and his policies refrain from voicing their own viewpoint. Clearly, that’s not the way a free society should operate.

We agree with the President that civil discourse is an American strength. That is why it is troubling to see a national political campaign apparently target individual citizens and private companies for some perceived political advantage. I also hope the President will reflect on how the approach the campaign is using is at odds with our national values and the constitutional right to free speech.

Sincerely,

Philip Ellender
President, Government & Public Affairs
Koch Companies Public Sector, LLC

Below is just an initial sample of of the distortions, false statements, and dishonesty in Mr. Press’ new book.

1.  Dishonesty:  ”At its heart, the Obama Hate Machine is directed and paid for by two billionaires . . . .”  Page 176.

Fact:  The whole premise of Mr. Press’ book is false and irresponsible.  Charles Koch and David Koch’s positions are not based in any way on hatred of President Obama.  Koch Industries, Charles Koch, and David Koch do, however, respectfully disagree with policies of both the President and Congress that continue to increase the ruinous deficits our nation faces.  Charles Koch and David Koch have been outspoken advocates of the  free-market and have a long record of supporting free market candidates regardless of party affiliation.  For the past 40 years, they have consistently championed limited government, economic freedom, and personal liberty.  On principle, they challenge government spending projects that are bankrupting our country.  These include public health care and government stimulus packages that will cost Americans trillions of dollars while increasing individual and corporate tax burdens.

Source: http://www.kochfacts.com/kf/misrepresentations-about-koch-family-and-koch-industries-history/

2. Falsehood:  ”Matt Kibbe . . . now serves the Koch empire as president of FreedomWorks.”  Page 186.

Fact: Koch has no ties to and has never funded FreedomWorks.

3.   False Statement:  ”It was revealed that [Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker's] union-busting legislation also contained a provision — totally unrelated to the budget — that would allow the state to sell or contract out management of state-owned heating, cooling, and power plants without getting bids or seeking approval of the Wisconsin Public Service Commission.  Surprise, surprise: The company best poised to take advantage of that opportunity, and make millions of dollars in the process, was Koch Industries!” — Page 217

Fact: As Koch has repeatedly stated since last February when this falsehood first arose, we have no interest in buying or leasing the state-owned power plants, which even the media that previously reported this false story conceded.  According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

•            “Kansas-based Koch, which operates paper mills and coal transportation firms in the state, vehemently denied any interest in buying or leasing the state facilities.  As it turns out, the potential buyers for the small power plants are much closer to home — including investor-owned utilities in Milwaukee and Madison. In recent investor presentations, Wisconsin Energy Corp. listed the potential acquisition of state energy plants as the first of several investment opportunities it is considering.”

4.  False Statement: “Pressure from Greenpeace and others in the scientific community, and the resulting bad publicity, coincided with [David Koch's] departure from the [National Cancer Advisory Board] in October 2010. ”

Fact:  David Koch was appointed by President Bush to the National Cancer Advisory Board in 2004 and served his full-term which expired in June 2010. Furthermore, the National Cancer Advisory Board never evaluated the carcinogenicity of formaldehyde when Mr. Koch was a board member.  Mr. Press’ false statement is presumably based on baseless allegations made by ThinkProgress and its former staffer Lee Fang on the issue, which prompted ThinkProgress to correct their post to reflect that “David Koch left the NIH’s cancer board after serving a full term.”

5.   Falsehood: “Koch Industries is also expected to benefit from various levels of government assistance in building the Keystone XL Pipeline, which will connect Koch-owned tar sands-mining operations in Canada to Koch-owned refineries in Texas.” — Page 226

Fact: Koch has no interest or involvement in the Keystone Pipeline XL, as we have repeatedly stated.

6.  Distortion:  ”When word [of the January 2011 Koch seminar] got out, the progressive organizations Common Cause and Code Pink also joined the battle, inviting their volunteers to rally outside the gathering . . . and sponsoring an opposition panel discussion in a nearby hotel.”  Page 177.

Fact: Common Cause, Code Pink, and other partisan left-wing groups sponsored a rally where their members, some of them holding signs with swastikas and violent messages, advocated lynching Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and his wife, and deporting Justice Samuel Alito.   Many protesters were arrested and the protesters’ shameful misconduct led Common Cause to issue a tepid apology.

7.   False Statement:   “[Supreme Court Justices Scalia and Thomas] showed up at [a Koch] January 2008 meeting in Palm Springs.   Which turned out to be a problem for both Justices [sic].  Common Cause later filed a formal request with the Justice Department to determine whether or not Thomas and Scalia had, in fact, attended Koch-sponsored events –and, if so, whether they should have recused themselves when the Supreme Court later considered the campaign-finance case Citizens United.”  Page 219.

Fact:  Justice Scalia attended the Palm Springs conference in January 2007 and spoke on foreign law issues, while Justice Thomas attended in January 2008 and talked about his memoir.  Koch was not a party to the Citizens United case and that case was not pending before the Supreme Court at the time the Justices attended the conferences.  Common Cause’s “formal request” with the Justice Department has no legal basis and was a fundraising ploy.

8.  Falsehood:  ”Just before the 2010 midterm elections, for example, Koch Industries sent an urgent letter to all of its fifty thousand U.S. employees, telling them how to vote and warning them of the consequences to them and their families if they did not vote the right way.  This was not only a highly unusual move for any big corporation; it would have been highly illegal before the Supreme Court’s Citizen’s United decision — which freed corporations to do almost anything they wanted to influence elections.” — Page 210

Fact: Mr. Press again relies on a prior false statement by ThinkProgress and other partisans.  Our October 2010 letter to employees clearly stated, “deciding who to vote for is a decision that is yours and yours alone, based on the factors that are important to you.”  Koch and KochPAC support candidates we believe will best advance policies that create the economic conditions needed for employees and businesses such as ours to survive and prosper.  The October 2010 letter was consistent with the law and the established practices by labor unions, companies, and other groups that send communications encouraging people to vote for specific candidates.

9. Falsehood: “Americans For Prosperity oppos[ed] the Employee Free Choice Act because the last thing the Koch Brothers wanted was making it easier for any of their employees to join a union.” — Page 202.

Fact: Koch has long had mutually respectful and productive relationships with the unions that represent its employees.  Indeed, one leading union official pointed out that Koch provides “the best-paid manufacturing jobs in America” and that the company “has positive and productive collective bargaining relationships with its unions.”

10.  False Statement:  ”While they have assembled an army of think tanks and so-called grassroots organizations to fight big government, they are also first in line to take whatever big government handouts they can lay their hands on.” — Page 226

Fact: Koch has consistently and for many years opposed government subsidies of any kind and urged the government to discontinue them.

11.  False Statement:  ”In 2008, the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation entered into an agreement with Florida State University … As with other Koch-funded campus think tanks, however, his millions to FSU came with one big string attached: Charles had to directly approve those appointed to leadership positions.” — Page 185

False.  Both the Charles Koch Foundation and the FSU administration have publicly affirmed that their agreement comports with FSU’s own, high standards for academic integrity and independence.  The Foundation released a public statement last May, stating:

“When FSU faculty spoke to us about supporting its economics department, we welcomed the opportunity to work with such distinguished scholars. Our agreement with FSU is consistent with faculty governance policies and procedures, and at every step in the recruitment process, FSU faculty control the selection and hiring of professors.  Opposition directed at respected FSU administrators and faculty undermines the very academic freedom that critics claim to defend. We affirm our support for academic freedom and consider it foundational in fostering a vibrant academic environment. Faculty should be allowed to pursue the research and teaching of their choice. Regardless of ideology, everyone should be supportive of research and teaching dedicated to understanding the conditions that create the most opportunity and prosperity for individuals.”

Pamela – thank you for your note. We are surprised that your apparent understanding of the word “preemptive” does not match the dictionary definition, which is this:

pre·emp·tive : taken as a measure against something possible, anticipated, or feared; preventive; deterrent.

All the best,

Melissa Cohlmia
Director, Corporate Communication
Koch Companies Public Sector, LLC

From: McCarthy, Pam
Sent: Friday, January 13, 2012 3:23 PM
To: Cohlmia, Missy
Subject: Re: Correx Request – Koch

Dear Missy,

Thanks for supplying the timeline. “Preemptive” still seems a reasonable description, given that you sent a statement to Politico, apparently without being asked for one, denying “unfounded speculation” that Politico hadn’t actually engaged in.

Re the $200 million question: We can certainly add an update to the blog post that summarized the Politico story, saying that you dispute the phrase “vowing that Americans for Prosperity will spend some $200 million in the 2012 Presidential campaign.” However, we’re sorry that you won’t clarify which part of the statement is inaccurate. If the goal is to set the record straight, simply stating that you dispute a phrase containing several different facts isn’t nearly as effective as giving the readers the correct facts. We’ll post the update next week, so please let me know if you change your mind and are willing to offer readers more information on the Kochs’ intended campaign contributions.

Sincerely,
Pam McCarthy
Deputy Editor

Dear Ms. McCarthy:

I appreciate your reply but you are mistaken in saying our statement “preceded any reporting stating otherwise.”  I’ve attached below the relevant articles and as you’ll see:

1.  Ben Smith’s article (absent our quote) was first posted on Politico at 4:29 a.m. EST  on January 5, intimating that we might have some involvement with the CAF project.

2. The blog ThinkProgress seized on that reporting and, at 9:27 a.m. EST that same day, published an article explicitly asserting that Koch was bankrolling the project.  Other blog posts occurred around that same time concerning this issue, including Americablog which stated “[t]he project is being bankrolled by the Koch Brothers.”

3. At 12:45 p.m. EST on January 5, we released our statement, which was sent to Politico and then added to Smith’s article after 5 p.m. EST on January 5.  Politico’s Dylan Byers detailed this sequence of events on his media blog and reported our statement as an update midafternoon on January 5.

Thus, it is beyond dispute that our statement came after published reports that both inferred and stated explicitly that we were involved — not preemptively.  The statement began with the words, “Contrary to unfounded speculation by Politico and others” – Ms. Mayer quoted this language verbatim in her blog posting which makes it all the more puzzling why you won’t admit she erred in claiming our statement was “preemptive.”  It’s worth noting, too, that ThinkProgress has faulted Ms. Mayer in the past, requiring clarification that her reporting relied on their information, so it certainly seems fair to expect she is aware of their coverage of us.

On the other error, the plain fact is that no one from Koch has ever made any representation, let alone a “vow,” that Americans for Prosperity will spend $200 million in the 2012 Presidential campaign.  It is possible, although doubtful, that the Politico reporter spoke to some third party who claimed such a thing.  But we are telling you, as the first party in question, that it did not happen.  I should add that it is not incumbent on us to detail our plans for campaign contributions in order to establish that Ms. Mayer is wrong in her reporting on this point.  Is it asking too much that readers be informed that we never said what Ms. Mayer erroneously indicates we did?

Thank you again for your attention to the matter.

Melissa Cohlmia
Director, Corporate Communication
Koch Companies Public Sector, LLC

From: McCarthy, Pam
Sent: Thursday, January 12, 2012 2:15 PM
To: Cohlmia, Missy
Subject: Re: Correx Request – Koch

Dear Missy,

We regret that you are dissatisfied with our coverage. However, Jane Mayer is correct: Phillip Ellender’s statement denying the Kochs’ involvement in the Center for American Freedom preceded any reporting asserting otherwise, so, in this respect, his statement was preemptive.

Re your earlier request, it would be helpful to know more specifically which part of the statement “vowing that Americans for Prosperity will spend some $200 million in the 2012 Presidential campaign” you are contesting. We would like any note we run to be as clear as possible about what the actual fundraising/spending goals and recipients were. The story in Politico that Jane Mayer was reporting on stated that an attendee at the Kochs’ donor summit in Vail last June named $200 million as the sum they hoped to direct at the 2012 campaign. If that sum is incorrect, please let us know what the correct amount would be. If our mention of Americans for Prosperity is incorrect, please let us know what political organization(s) would be appropriate to name.

Thank you for reading our coverage so closely.

Sincerely,
Pam McCarthy
Deputy Editor

David Remnick, Editor
The New Yorker

Dear Mr. Remnick:

Once again, a story about Koch by Jane Mayer in your publication contains a factual error. In an item on January 6 about a new advocacy group being organized by Michael Goldfarb, Mayer writes, “Goldfarb declined to tell [Politico reporter Ben] Smith whether or not the Koch brothers are involved in funding this latest political gambit. A corporate spokesman for the Kochs, however, issued a preemptive denial.” But that is inaccurate. Our statement to Politico came after the fact — that is, after the Politico story was first published. Politico itself detailed this sequence in print, as is easily checked, so it is incomprehensible how Ms. Mayer arrived at the conclusion that our statement was “preemptive.”

This is far from the first time that Ms. Mayer’s reporting on us has failed to adhere to even the most basic journalism standards, never mind the magazine’s often-trumpeted fact-checking process. Just a few weeks ago, we pointed out to you Ms. Mayer’s reporting on October 20 that “[Koch is] vowing that Americans for Prosperity will spend some $200 million in the 2012 Presidential campaign” was also false. Your colleague Pamela Maffei McCarthy disavowed responsibility and that correction request also remains outstanding. And even as our explicit debunking of Ms. Mayer’s reporting went disregarded, editors clarified that same piece by adding that the Associated Press reporting that Ms. Mayer relied on was itself preceded by (similarly wrong) assertions from the left-wing blog, ThinkProgress. Her reporting, in other words, was stale, false, and three-times removed from the initial public airing.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts and if you would kindly correct the errors we have cited, I would appreciate it.

Sincerely,

Melissa Cohlmia
Director, Corporate Communication
Koch Companies Public Sector, LLC